It has been a very tough month for players, supporters and management of the Milton Keynes Lightning. Six losses in our last seven matches has seen us drop out of title contention and enter into mid table territory.  Whilst a league title may now be a step too far, we are by no means waiving a white flag.  Our main ambition at the moment is to get a feeling of positivity and good feeling back in the camp and fight our way out of this slump.  We know there are no secret remedies and that nothing less than hard work and self belief will get us back to playing at the level we want to be at.  It is always at times like this that we get a true test of ourselves and I believe a good result can springboard us back up the table. 

It is very frustrating for supporters as they can't do anything for us but be vocal (positive or negative) and we certainly thank them all for the continued support they have shown us.  We are all angry at the way we have played and we know that you are as desperate for a result as we are.  However, I thought that this past weekend we made some considerable improvements on the previous weekend.  We spent a lot of time in training working on defense and I felt all weekend we were back to our defensive best limiting both shot count and scoring chances when 5 on 5.  We now have to get our offensive firing on a more regular basis as we are currently putting far too much pressure on our defense and netminding.  Offensively our confidence is low, but that is not to be used as a crutch.  I am a firm believer that confidence is earned not given, and we must start putting more pucks on net and getting bodies in front of goal looking to score hard goals.  It is also crucial that we start winning special teams battles with our opponents as this year teams are so evenly matched that quite often it comes down to a power play goal or penalty kill that will win a game. 

With six matches in the next 11 days the games will come thick and fast which I feel is ideal for us at the moment.  We need to play ourselves out of this barren patch and find some momentum going forward.  There is lots of hockey to played and three trophies to play for.  We know that it is a team game and we need every player to lift themselves and their team mates and also the supporters.  There is only one way to get ourselves out of this and that is to fight on together.  That has always been the MKL way.